​When I let go of the need to fit a poem On the page of public opinionThe words comeWhen I let go of the needTo know tomorrowToday gives me the biggest hugAnd asks me to stay When I let go of the need For you to be my perfect mirrorYou reflect my scars The secret skin therapy to repairWhen I let go of the needTo make you understandYou’ll ask me to explain A conch-shelled heart will answer

It’s easier to control my daughter’s sweet cravings, my partner’s dissenting opinions, my Mother’s attitude, patients’ diagnoses, future events, public opinions of me than to feel the fear inside. Fear is messy, uncontrollable, a ticking time bomb about to explode, obliterating all traces and notions of Me.

If you could feel fear and deeply listen, what would it say? What does it need? Does it need safety, kindness, understanding, love, acceptance, forgiveness? Who or what would you find standing behind fear?

Ajahn Chah says, “If you let go a little you a will have a little peace; if you let go a lot you will have a lot of peace; if you let go completely you will have complete peace.”

When I let go a little, I hear what fear needs. When I let go a lot, I see compassion and faith standing behind fear. When I let go completely, a conch-shelled heart whispers secrets of the sea.